Another Top Ten List

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: to get better at writing a hook, relevance, and thesis paragraph

Agenda:
1. Read
2. English Journal
3. Read The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

In our next English Journal, we will create a top ten list: What are the top ten toys you remember from childhood?

Choose one to write about. Make sure your paragraph has a hook, relevance, and a thesis.

Read Olaudah's narrative about his own life (7m37s). TEXT AUDIO

While reading the narrative highlight passages that show the cruelty, suffering, and fears experienced by the narrator.

Create a top ten list of the horrible things that happened to Olaudah Equiano. Then choose the top three to write about in your English Journal.

Make sure your paragraph about Equiano has a hook, relevance, and a thesis.

A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Essential Question: Are narratives good evidence in arguments about freedom?

Goal: Practice working together. How can you help each other pick out what is important?

Agenda:

1. Read

2. Begin your small group work for The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation

Directions for The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaption (???)

1. As you read, make sure you take time to read the captions and speech balloons. You may want to take turns reading.

2. Highlight or circle with a highlighter the parts that stand out to you. Which panels especially help you better understand the Constitution?

3. Complete this Formative to check your understanding.

4. Work on your vocabulary chart together. The next twelve words are due next week. At the end of the period, we will play a Quizlet Live! game.

Small Groups: America's Constitution, Second Day

Essential Question: Are narratives good evidence in arguments about freedom?

Goal: Work together to understand a text

Agenda:

1. Read

2. Finish your small group work for America's Constitution: A Biography

Directions for America's Constitution: A Biography (18m49s)

1. Annotate the passages you highlighted yesterday. Try to paraphrase these passages with your group. Make sure you highlighted something in these paragraphs:

2. Write a group summary of the text. No more than 7-10 sentences. Create a shared Google Doc. Make sure all of your names are on it. Everyone should contribute to the summary. Make sure your summary is not full of errors. One person turns it in, and the other people mark the assignment as DONE.


4. Take time to explore one of these concepts from the reading: absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, Ottoman or Mogul Empire, OR anything else you want to know more about.

Homework:
1. Finish the next twelve items on your vocabulary chart. You can work together.

Small Groups: First Day

Essential Question: Are narratives good evidence in arguments about freedom?

Goal: Clarify small group learning strategies

Agenda:

1. Read

2. Describe what it means to work as a team

3. Make a schedule

4. Define group roles

5. Begin work on two texts about the Constitution

Today I gave you your groups of four. First, you will complete all of the activities on pages 68-71 as a group. Make sure you read all of the text and follow the directions.

Here are the due dates for page 71:

1. America's Constitution 8/29
2. The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation 8/31
3. Olaudah Equiano Narrative 9/4
4. Letter and Dear Abigail 9/7
5. Gettysburg Address 9/8
6. Performance Task 9/11

Directions for America's Constitution: A Biography (18m49s)

1. Read the selection silently or listen to the AUDIO Notice which founders of the Constitution are mentioned. Highlight the passages that describe the innovations (new ideas) the founders employed.
2. Complete the Formative to check for understanding.

Finishing our first essay

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: to finish our first essay about what ideas from the founding documents are still relevant

Agenda:
1. Read- go to Google Play Books and upload the book you are reading. It keeps track of the page number and your progress.

Go to Google Classroom and open the assignment called Explanatory Essay and begin writing.

Here are some sentences you can use to complete your conclusion:

In conclusion, to be an American means...Both (Name) and (Name) demonstrate these qualities. These qualities are important because they help our nation...

YOUR ESSAY IS DUE BY SUNDAY.

When you are finished with everything:
1. Finish the first twelve words on your vocabulary chart

Argument Essay

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: to understand the directions for our first essay

Agenda:
1. Read
2. Begin our argument essay

You will find the pre-writing document on Google Classroom.


When you are finished with everything:
1. First twelve words on your vocabulary chart are due tomorrow.

Freedom discussion and checking your reading progress

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: To have a discussion about Freedom

Agenda:
1. Silent reading. Today we will fill out the Reading progress form.

Sum up our answers to the Essential question

Today we will take a NoRedInk pretest on using commas for clarity. Open Clever (it is in your bookmarks or under apps) and login using Google. Then choose NoRedInk and you should see an assignment ready for you.


When you are finished with everything:
1. Work on vocabulary
2. Get ahead on reading

Visual Propaganda

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: Understand how the colonists decided to rise up against England. Does propaganda interfere with freedom? If so, is that interference justified in the name of a cause that will increase freedom more?

Agenda:
1. Read: You should be finished with your first book by the end of the week
2. Today we will be looking at visual propaganda from the American Revolution

Visual Propaganda from the American Revolution
Fill in graphic organizer on Google Classroom
Finally, we will discuss the elements of propaganda in each image.

Find and explain a current political cartoon. Add it to the bottom of the graphic organizer.

When you are finished with everything:
1. I will grade the first twelve items on your vocabulary chart this Friday
2. Read silently

Ben Franklin and the Constitution

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: To understand the role of compromise

Agenda:
1. Read: You should be finished with your first book today.
2. Analyze Franklin's speech to the convention

The Constitution background

Speech in the Convention AUDIO
Notice Franklin's arguments to persuade his detractors
Annotate his arguments in favor of the Constitution

Formative to check for understanding
Close reading: try to understand Franklin's long and complex sentences.

Author's purpose: Rhetoric
page 47

Write a summary of Ben Franklin's speech.

When you are finished with everything:
1. Work on vocabulary
2. Finish Bill of Rights document and Elevator Pitch (these are now late assignments)
3. Read your book. 

Bill of Rights Elevator Speech

Goal: Practice your speaking skills

Agenda:
1. Read
2. Bill of Rights Google Classroom assignment
3. Record your elevator pitch

First, we will head over to Google Classroom and make sure we understand some key amendments.

Next, we will learn about elevator pitches and plan one out for an amendment of your choice.

Finally, we will use Flipgrid to record our pitches.

If you finish early, remember to do the following:
1. Work on your vocabulary assignment
2. Take extra time to read

Preamble and Bill of Rights

Essential Question: What is the meaning of freedom?
Goal: Work on Annotation Skills

Agenda:

1. Read
2. First read of Preamble and Bill of Rights, and Close Read
3. English Journal

Today is our second chance to practice our close reading. We will be reading the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Here are the TEXT and AUDIO.

In order to check your understanding, you will complete this FORMATIVE.

Then we will answer the Close Read Questions.

Finally, we are going to create a one sentence summary of today's reading and create a top ten list for our English Journal.

English11 Journal #3: Bill of Rights Summary and Top 10 list

When you are done:
1. Work on your vocabulary chart for unit 1 and study your words on Quizlet.
2. Continue to work on your reading. You should be done with your first book by next week.

Vocabulary and Quizlet Live

Goal: Learn our vocabulary procedure

Agenda:
1. Read
2. Learn how to complete the vocabulary chart
3. Play Quizlet Live!
4. NoRedInk Pretest 

Our vocabulary charts are on Google Classroom. I will walk you through the instructions today.

Today we will play our first Quizlet Live! game. I will also help you signup for my class on Quizlet.

Finally, we will complete a pretest on NoRedInk to take a pretest for the grammar skills

Close Reading the Declaration of Independence

Goal: Deepen our close reading skills

Agenda:
1. Read silently
2. Finish Goformative Activity from Yesterday
3. Close Read the Declaration of Independence


The Declaration of Independence is a difficult text. Today we will try to use our Close Reading skills to deepen our understanding.

Close read the text and answer the close read questions.

I will also introduce how we will complete our vocabulary assignments. Go to Google Classroom for the instructions.

Research to Clarify
Research to Explore

Understanding Freedom

Essential Question: What is the meaning of Freedom?

Goal: To understand that Freedom can be interpreted in different ways.

Agenda:

1. Independent reading
2. Introduce Whole Class Learning
3. Preamble to the Constitution / Bill of Rights

Begin by reading your book. After IR time fill out this Reading Progress update: https://goo.gl/forms/8Pbtz79JFfezRI4n2

Pearson Realize:

A New Nation, Voices of the Period, History of the Period

Declaration of Independence First Read
Formative to check for understanding

Our First Unit: Writing Freedom

Goal: Introduce our first unit WRITING FREEDOM

First step READ. Hopefully, you are enjoying your book by now.

• Take this survey to set goals for this unit.
• How well can you evaluate arguments and non-fiction narratives?
• How well can you write an argument?
• Do you have your own "voice" when you write?
• Can you build on other people's ideas?

• Read the nonfiction article "Totally Free." Annotate the most important ideas and then summarize the article. To create this summary, we will make a new document called "English Journal." Here are the steps:
• Open Google Drive
• Click on NEW and choose GOOGLE DOCS
• The title of the document should be LASTNAME FIRSTNAME English Journal
• Your first entry should look like this:

• What words are related to freedom? Put your words HERE
• Finally, make groups of six to complete the Freedom Google Drawing activity on Google Classroom. Assign each person in your group a section. Then combine all of your answers so that each of you has a completed chart.

If we have time:

Create a new journal entry in your English Journal. The title should be "Freedom Words." Based on our class list, what are the top FIVE words related to freedom? Make a list for your journal.


Reminder:

1. Finish and publish your Six Word Memoir ASAP
2. Fill out the Student Data Form
3. Fill out the Reading Survey

Six Word Memoir

Six Word Memoir

GOAL: Polish and post our six word memoirs.

READ: get out your book or borrow a new one. 

Six Word Memoir Project

• Watch the videos from the bottom of yesterday's blog to help you understand what a Six Word Memoir is.
• Open the assignment from Google Classroom entitled Six Word Memoir and complete the document.

Publishing Six Word Memoirs:

• In Google Classroom there is an assignment entitled Six Word Memoir Slides
• There is a slide deck attached to that assignment with 42 slides. 
• Use the slide that matches the number I gave you in class. 
• Pick your favorite Six Word Memoir. Make sure it is personal, six words, and spelled correctly. Then add it to the slide. 
• You can add an image to the slide, but only from photosforclass.com and only on your slide. 
• Note: If you have not yet joined out Google Classroom the class code is posted in the back of the room.

If you finish early you have extra time to read today. Try to get through the first two chapters!

Reminder:

1. Fill out the Student Data Form
2. Fill out the Reading Survey

First Step Read

First Step: Read!

If you brought a book today, make sure you take it out and beginning reading for ten minutes. If you do not have one, follow these steps:

1. Open this Google Drive folder.
2. View these Google Slides for book recommendations.


3. Right click on one of the files and choose download.
4. Install this app from the Chrome Web Store.
5. Open the app and choose the PLUS SIGN in the upper right corner.
6. Click on the book file you downloaded.
7. Start reading the book!

WATCH THIS VIDEO if you are having trouble.

Second Step:
Fill out the reading survey. This survey will help me know what kind of reader you are.

Third step:
Sign-up for our Google Classroom. I will give you the code in class.

How good are your Google Doc skills? Complete this assignment in Google Classroom to find out.

Once everyone has successfully achieved these goals, our first project of the year will be to write a Six Word Memoir. We will talk about this, but here are some helpful videos and websites to get you started in this process:

• Six Word Memoirs written by Teens
• Six tips for writing six word memoirs (video)
• Six Word Memoirs written by Teens (video)

Hello and Welcome to American Literature

Hello and Welcome to American Literature!

We're going to have a fantastic year of learning together, and that means we have a lot to do today. The first thing to know is that this blog will be where we start each day, and it will link you to everything else you will need for our class. I am very excited to get to know all of you, so let's get started!

Reminders for Wednesday (that's tomorrow):

• Review the syllabus.
• Fill out the student data form.
• Bring a book for reading in class.